Fate Unstoppable
by Caffeinated Tweek
Summary: [FE8] Eirika and her ever loyal knight Seth are determined to reclaim Renais, but with the odds stacked against them, how long can they avoid the inevitable terrors that their conquest into enemy territory has lying in wait for them? SethEirika


Hello fellow folks! (Ooo, alliteration... hehe... 0o)

This is my first attempt at a serious fanfic, so don't expect a masterpiece. I try, though!

This is going to be Seth and Eirika centric, since I adore the former, and it'll without a doubt turn into a SethxEirika, just 'cause I love that pairing so much. I'm not usually for canon pairings... But this one tweeks my heartstrings for some reason. :P

Rating: T - This may be subject to change however, depending on where this goes.

If you like it (or even if you don't, really,) leave a review and tell me what'cha think!

So, without further ado, here it is:

_Fate Unstoppable_

_Chapter One - The Fall of Renais_

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It hadn't always been like this.

No, as a matter of fact, Renais had not been in this state for centuries. Once the demon king had been banished 803 years ago, peace had filled it's lands. It's people were not fighters, but rather passive people who thirsted knowledge, and to uncover the mysteries of the world around them. It was a county blessed with fertile grounds, and overall mirthful people. None could have expected the tragedy that would wash this all away in a sea of blood and flames fueled by war, war that had been commenced by the most unlikely source - The neighboring country of Grado.

But such is reality. A reality that all had to face.

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The throne room of Renais was not an enviable place to be right now. The screams, shouts and groans of the skirmishing soldiers throughout the castle seemed to be amplified tenfold in the central chamber, it's cavernous walls the perfect source to intensify their cries. The loud cries, however, seemed to gain an empty, hollow sound to them once they reached the chamber, haunting enough to make one's skin shiver and resolution waver.

King Fado, while in all respects a good man, was not very enviable at the current time, either. Heavy wrinkles of stress and fatigue littered his strained face, a face that despite age, was normally quite handsome. A heavy sigh escaped his lips as he leaned back in his throne, tugging at his beard while attempting to get his thoughts in order. Why was Renais suddenly the target of their neighbors to the south? What had caused Grado's king, Vigarde, to bring on this sudden onslaught? The intricately carved stone throne that he sat on no longer seemed like a point to govern from, but rather a prison, a fate he could not escape.

Fado looked at the people around them, a small attempt at calming himself by way of reminder that he was not alone.

The first that his gaze travelled to was a crimson haired man to his left, by the name of Seth. Despite being only in his late twenties, he had earned himself the title of Renais' General, showing peerless skill and strategy among his fellows. The paladin had earned himself the nickname of "The Silver Knight" within his company and his foes, for his overall quality teamwork him and his steed, by the name of Silver, display. Even amidst all the confusion, chaos and bloodshed that was around them, he was still the image of perfected knighthood, standing with flawless posture and a composed look on his face. He held the reigns of his steed beside him, ready to leap onto it and charge into combat in an instant. The king was glad to have him at his side.

Continuing along the room with his eyes, seeing distressed soldiers and a few lieutenants he did not recognize, his wandering gaze stopped as it reached his other side, where his daughter, Eirika, stood. A wrenching pain shot through him upon seeing her blue eyes staring at him. While she wore a placid mask on her face, her eyes were not convincing enough for her father to believe it. A dark fear and anxiety emanated from those blue depths, looking as though they could break at any moment.

The king offered his daughter his hand and guided her closer to him. He stood and embraced her in his arms, unable to think of any words of comfort. He did not want to see his daughter suffer because of a war none of them understood, yet he was powerless to stop it. Compounding their worries was the lack of Eirika's twin brother Ephraim's presence.

"Father..." Uttered Eirika in a frail voice, taking comfort in her father's arms. Tears threatened to leak from her eyes as she leaned against his chest.

"I am here, beloved Eirika." replied Fado, stroking his daughter's long blue hair.

Seth offered the two a look of utmost sympathy, nearly feeling the pain as his own. The protection of the royal family was his most important charge, and to see them in such a state was nearly enough to break his composure.

They stood this way for a while, until a Renais soldier came bursting into the throne room, obviously having great difficulty keeping himself from panicking. King Fado released his daughter with reluctance and turned his attention to the nervous soldier.

"Your Majesty, I bear bad news," He began, straining to keep a level tone, "The castle gate has been breached. Emperor Vigarde's forces are within the castle walls."

The king nodded, waiting for any more information.

"The garrison has fallen. We've lost contact with Prince Ephraim and can expect no aid from his men. Your majesty, what are we to do?" The soldier said, the last line as less of an inquiry as to their next orders, but rather a desperate plea.

Fado sighed. He had thought, and thought and thought, but under the circumstances, no answers formed in his mind. "What else can we do? Order your men to lay down their arms."

The soldier gulped and nodded, giving a bow before leaving the throne room, certain that his life would not last much longer.

"Father..." said Eirika again, remainng standing at her father's side.

"Eirika," began the king of Renais, fixing his daughter's fearful face with his kind eyes, "Are you wearing the bracelet I gave you?"

She looked down at her wrist as though to confirm it. "Yes, I have it right here." There had been no need to look, though. It was always there, a trinket that she refused to ever remove from her person.

Relief flooded Fado's body. That, at least, was still safe. "Good."

He then turned his attention to the red haired knight, still standing as straight and confident as ever. "Seth."

The Silver Knight bowed his head to Renais' king, ever formal. "Yes, Your Majesty?"

"Take Eirika and head for Frelia. King Hayden is an honorable man. I trust he will keep you safe."

"Understood." Seth knew the implications of his king's command, yet he felt he had to ask anyways, "And what of Your Majesty?"

It did not take long for Fado to reply. This had been his intent since the beginning of the war. "Me? I shall remain here. We have long held Grado among our dearest allies, yet now, they attack? I must know why."

Seth nodded, and King Fado continued, "Am I somehow responsible for this? Have I erred in my leadership? Renais is mine to guide... How could I have failed her so?"

Eirika could not bear the bleak talk any longer. She quickly stood in front of her father, the tears that had been welling in her eyes finally spilling down her cheeks. "Father, you can't stay! You mustn't! If you remain behind, then... Then so shall I!"

Though it was near agony for him to do so, he quickly took her in his arms one last time, then looked at his knight sternly. "Go now, Seth! Ride! Take her to safety!"

With a grim nod, Seth mounted Silver and took the princess from her father's arms, placing her in the saddle in front of himself.

"Father!" She cried out desperately, still reaching for Fado's hand.

The Silver Knight grimaced, unable to rid himself of the feeling that Eirika thought that he was partially responsible for her tears. "Forgive me, your highness." He murmured to her.

Seth then gripped Silver's reigns and urged him into a gallop, tearing through the corridors of Renais' castle and passing countless Grado soldiers. Luckily their pace was enough to rush by them without incident.

They had not left a moment too soon, for mere minutes after they did, soldier after soldier wearing Grado uniforms flooded into the throne room, along with a few of Grado's generals.

King Fado closed his eyes. _'Ephraim, Eirika... You must survive.'_

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Once outside the halls of the besieged castle, the two riders stopped to cast a backwards glance at the stone building that had been, for as long as either could remember, a place of peace housing a just ruler, now looking more like a defeated ant hill, teeming with enemy soldiers.

Eirika was crestfallen. She looked back at the knight behind her, discovering that his attention was still on the castle. He seemed tense, too tense for his usual self. _'What is he waiting for?'_

Based on the fact that he was lingering, the Renais Princess decided that they obviously had a small amount of time left. "Sir Seth?" She spoke quietly.

"Yes, milady?"

"Might I dismount, only for a little while? I want to say goodbye... For the last time."

Obviously wrestling with his mind momentarily, Seth finally gave Eirika a nod. "Please do not stray far from me however, your highness..." He cautioned.

With a hand from the paladin behind her, she stepped off his horse onto the ground, closed her eyes and clasped her hands together in front of her._ 'Father... Brother... All those whom are not with me... Please be well...'_

It wasn't long before Seth's tense form relaxed considerably as a young man on horseback came riding towards them from the castle at a brisk pace. In minutes they were greeted by the red-faced rider. He wore golden armor, and had nearly matching hair.

"General Seth!" he exclaimed, giving his superior a brisk salute.

"Franz, I am glad to see you made it unscathed." said Seth, relief evident on his face.

Franz was a young soldier-in-training for Renais, and was always awed by his general, aspiring to be just like him. While he did wish to be as good and tried his hardest, he had a severe lack of confidence, often compromising his natural talent.

"I want you to ride ahead and bring word of our coming to Frelia. It wouldn't be good for them to be completely unaware of us showing up with the possibility of Grado soldiers on our heels. A single rider has better odds of passing unseen by Grado's men than the two of us. Convey to the throne all that has happened here and petition for reinforcements."

Franz gave Seth a shaky nod. "U-understood!"

Without another word, the blond cavalier took off to the north, to Frelia. Renais and Frelia had long been allies and still held that to be true. Seth prayed that they would be sympathetic to their plight.

"Your highness," said Seth, keeping a level of caution to his tone. It was plain to the eye that she was in a fragile state of emotion, "We should not tarry here. The sooner we leave, the less chance we have of attracting unwanted attention."

"Seth!" She cried, spinning around angrily so she was facing him, "I've just lost my home, my country, and possibly all the rest of my family! Be still and give me a chance to say farewell!"

The paladin grimaced. "I apologize, milady, it was not my intent to interrupt, but we must - "

He stopped abruptly. Eirika looked up at him, curious as to what distracted him so.

"Something is in the air... Something large..." He explained. Suddenly his eyes widened. "Quickly, behind me!"

Without any hesitation, Seth dug his heels into his steed, causing it rear, and leap in front of Eirika. He pulled on the reigns with such force that the horse whinnied, but came to a quick stop. The sound of metal grating on metal was heard in the air as the redhead drew his blade from it's sheath at his hip. The knight's sudden harsh movements left Eirika frightened.

Seth's fears proved to be veracious as five wyvern riders approached them, each one's garb betraying them as part of Grado's army. All five of them landed uncomfortably close to the two fleeing from the castle.

"You there, with the girl. Tell me, would that be the wayward princess of Renais?" Demanded the middle rider, a tone of nonchalance and overconfidence in his voice. He pulled his long, greasy, dull blue-grey hair back with a hand, sneering down at the two.

Eirika looked up at the man who had spoken. Everything about him made her uneasy. His excessive height, his clear lack of hygiene, his sunken, sinister eyes, and the massive wyvern he was perched on, among other things. It was larger that that of his fellows, and at least twice the size of Seth's horse.

"Who are you to ask?" asked Seth, keeping his voice as even as ever.

The long-haired man laughed. It was not a friendly laugh, nor a kindly one, rather one of ridicule. "How amusing. I suppose it doesn't hurt to tell corpses anything, does it? Pray for your lives, for you stand before Valter, the Moonstone, Grado's finest General!"

The man named Valter paused, then made a fake gasp, "Oh! You must be _general_ Seth! You're quite a household name, _general_." he smirked, making sure to put emphasis on Seth's title, mocking him as much as he could without plainly going up and smacking him in the face.

The paladin glared at the dubious man. "Enough. What is your reason for delaying us?"

The Moonstone chuckled. "I should think it obvious. Hand over the princess to me and I will spare you the agony of my lance!"

"Never!" shouted Seth, tightening the grip on his silver blade. Without warning, he snapped Silver's reigns and began charging right for Valter, sword drawn. "You'll die before you lay a hand on her."

"Oh-ho, this should be fun." With a casual smirk, Valter whipped out his lance as he and his wyvern took to the sky at an alarming speed.

Barely able to believe Valter's speed, Seth went rushing right past where his target was mere seconds ago, swinging his blade at the empty air. He pulled back on the Silver's reigns forcefully, but the entire mistake had left him vulnerable for too long. Valter dove at Seth and drove his lance into the paladin's right shoulder, tearing a wickedly deep gash until as far as his abdomen.

Seth let out a choked gasp as the fresh wound burned with such agony, he fought the will to scream and beg for the wyvern knight to leave them be, but he knew that wasn't an option. Forcing himself to look up, Eirika entered his field of vision. She was mortified, her hands were covering her mouth in some attempt to hide her terror.

_'No...' _She thought, unable to tear her eyes from the gaping wound on Seth's body. _'He can't fight like that!'_

"NO!" Seth gritted his teeth and dug his heels into Silver's sides, lunging forward towards Eirika. In one fluid motion, with his uninjured side, he grabbed the back of her collar, hoisted her up onto his horse and set her in the seat in front of himself, not losing a single bit of speed.

_'You won't win, Valter.'_ He though resolutely, clenching his jaw to keep from crying out from the pain that riding was causing him. Despite his injury, he urged Silver onward at their high speed. A hasty escape was their only hope.

"Forgive me, your highness, this may not be the most pleasant of rides." Hissed Seth through his teeth.

Eirika only nodded in response. She didn't trust herself to speak coherently; Valter's maniacal laughs following them, Seth's blood seeping into her clothes - It was too much.

Their pace was unrelenting as they sped off, away from Valter, away from the castle, and away from the ruins of Renais.

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Valter wore a smug grin on his face as he watched the injured knight and his princess flee from him, and pulled his wyvern to a halt.

"General, shall we give chase?" Questioned one stern faced wyvern riders.

The moonstone cupped his chin, pretending to be thinking hard,

"Not now. This will be good for such fun. Seth and Eirika, how long do you think you can escape the mighty Grado empire?"

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Well, there's chapter one! I know that it was pretty much identical to the game's prologue, but that's what I've had in mind for a while. It'll be the only one like this. It will also likely get much darker as we move along... Muahaha!

Oh, and if you have any comments/criticism, please leave a review! I'd love to hear it!


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